Sunday, July 19, 2009

GSA survey: 121pc rise in HSPA user devices

UK: The number of HSPA user devices launched in the market has risen 121 percent over the past 12 months, according to a new survey published today by the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA).

The GSA HSPA Devices Survey confirms that 1,605 HSPA devices have now been announced by 183 manufacturers worldwide. The survey provides clear evidence of how the mobile broadband eco-system enabled by WCDMA-HSPA technology is both robust and flourishing.

GSA confirms that 881 new HSPA user devices were launched over the past year, which is equivalent to more than 70 new product announcements every month.

HSPA successfully addresses all market segments. There are now 662 HSPA mobile phones, including several recent smartphone launches. The number of mobile phone products has increased by more than 88 percent year on year. The number of HSPA-enabled notebook products, another key segment, more than tripled in the same period to 336 models.

Excluding notebooks, almost half of HSDPA devices are capable of supporting peak download data speeds of 7.2 Mbps peak or higher, including eight HSPA+ devices supporting up to 21 Mbps.

The number of HSUPA-capable devices quadrupled over the past year to stand at 305 products today. More than a third of HSUPA devices support 5.8 Mbps peak uplink data speeds. Navigational capabilities (GPS, A-GPS) are incorporated in 345 products, an increase of 238% over the past year.

Commenting on this latest survey, Alan Hadden, President of GSA said: "HSPA is firmly driving mobile broadband growth globally, and millions of new customers are signing up every month. Network speeds have increased and are matched by a huge choice of compatible devices for users.

"It is particularly encouraging to see that the number of suppliers increased by 59 percent, from 115 companies a year ago to 183 suppliers participating in the market today. Many of these companies are evolving their product portfolios to support HSPA+ and emerging LTE mobile broadband networks as the mainstream evolution path for operators."

HSPA mobile broadband systems are deployed in all the main cellular bands. While the majority operate in 2100 MHz spectrum, there has been an explosion in device availability in the lower frequency bands, including 850 MHz as widely deployed in the Americas, Australia and parts of Asia, and at 900 MHz. These bands are particularly well suited for economic wide area coverage, and improve penetration into buildings.

For example, there are now 155 user devices (compared to 20 by mid-2008), which operate in the 900 MHz band, spectrum widely used for GSM and which is now being re-farmed in several countries for 3G/mobile broadband by permitting deployment of UMTS900 (i.e., HSPA in the 900 MHz band) networks.